The field of the present invention is power electronics for converting electrical energy between a generator and a receiver, which are generally of different types. It is then necessary to adapt the characteristics and the different forms of electrical energy (direct-current or alternating-current). The electrical converters used are generally produced with switches based on semiconductor components and passive components such inductors or capacitors. Switches, but also diodes, make it possible to control the transfer of electrical energy, whereas the passive components serve for filtering the waveforms of this energy. A switch behaves like a non-linear resistance, which must be as low as possible in the ON state and as high as possible in the OFF state. The converters mentioned here do not use rotating parts and so are also called “static converters”.
The use of an insulated gate bipolar transistor, also known by the acronym IGBT, as an electronic switch in circuits for power electronics is known. Such a component allows great simplicity of operation while keeping conduction losses low. The use of such components has enabled many advances in applications of power electronics both with regard to reliability and reduction of costs.
On the basis of components such as for example IGBTs, achievement of power integration by making an assembly of components is known. In this way, standard modules are produced. This technique is commonly used in industry, transport or power engineering. Thus it is known, for example, to integrate within a chip a switching dipole with only two power electrodes, and to implement vertically voltage withstand and current flow within the chip. Such a dipole is commonly called a “switch”. Next, energy conversion structures are produced by linking together several switches by wiring, in order to create a structure for energy conversion. This wiring operation creates strong parasitic electrical interactions between the connection inductances, the parasitic capacitances with respect to the ground plane, the semiconductors themselves and their near-control electronics.
These interactions degrade the overall performance of the power converter produced, relative to the performance of the initial components (switches). The wiring operation also limits the reliability of the wired assembly, causing a decrease in service life when high current densities are used, a high ambient temperature and operational thermal cycles. Finally, this operation is costly as it requires a long time for its implementation and thus limits productivity.
Integration of complete control and logic circuits into the silicon, i.e. in one and the same chip, is also known. This is used for example in mass production applications, for example in the automotive industry. Most often, the functions are performed at the surface of the silicon crystal. The voltages involved are therefore limited and such solutions only relate to certain applications.
The present invention has the objective, in the field of power electronics, of allowing even greater miniaturization in order to obtain a converter that is more compact. Preferably, the reliability achieved will also be increased. Moreover, the present invention will advantageously allow the cost of a power converter to be reduced.
For this purpose, an integrated-circuit monolithic cell is proposed comprising at least two semiconductor structures of the same type that are unidirectional in voltage and in current, each structure having an anode, a cathode and optionally a gate.